(7) Iris
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	9 Jul 2026	11.3	2.760 AU	3.094 AU	11h08m	+00°25'	61.6°	18.9°
Opposition	25 May 2027	9.5	2.889 AU	1.876 AU	16h05m	-23°11'	177.7°	0.8°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Iris are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2302746
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3857463
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.51857
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 259.48510
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 145.40717
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 115.29166
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 225.01657
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.12983
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.68            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-07-09 00:00 UT   11 08 32.7   +00 25 02     3.094    2.760   61.6   18.9   115   11.3 
2026-07-09 07:03 UT   11 08 54.3   +00 23 11     3.098    2.761   61.5   18.9   115   11.3 
2026-07-10 00:00 UT   11 09 46.4   +00 18 42     3.107    2.762   61.0   18.8   116   11.3 
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   11 11 00.5   +00 12 18     3.120    2.763   60.4   18.7   116   11.3 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   11 12 14.9   +00 05 51     3.134    2.765   59.8   18.5   116   11.4 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   11 13 29.6   +00 00 40     3.147    2.767   59.1   18.4   116   11.4 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   11 14 44.6   +00 07 14     3.160    2.768   58.5   18.3   116   11.4 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   11 15 60.0   +00 13 52     3.173    2.770   57.9   18.1   116   11.4 
2026-07-16 00:00 UT   11 17 15.6   +00 20 33     3.185    2.771   57.3   18.0   116   11.4 
2026-07-17 00:00 UT   11 18 31.5   +00 27 17     3.198    2.773   56.7   17.8   116   11.4 
2026-07-18 00:00 UT   11 19 47.6   +00 34 04     3.211    2.775   56.1   17.7   116   11.4 
2026-07-19 00:00 UT   11 21 04.1   +00 40 55     3.223    2.776   55.4   17.5   116   11.4 
2026-07-20 00:00 UT   11 22 20.8   +00 47 49     3.236    2.778   54.8   17.4   116   11.4 
2026-07-21 00:00 UT   11 23 37.8   +00 54 45     3.248    2.779   54.2   17.3   116   11.4 
2026-07-22 00:00 UT   11 24 55.0   -01 01 45     3.260    2.781   53.6   17.1   116   11.4 
2026-07-23 00:00 UT   11 26 12.5   -01 08 47     3.273    2.782   53.0   17.0   117   11.4 
2026-07-24 00:00 UT   11 27 30.3   -01 15 53     3.285    2.784   52.4   16.8   117   11.4 
2026-07-25 00:00 UT   11 28 48.2   -01 23 01     3.297    2.785   51.8   16.7   117   11.4 
2026-07-26 00:00 UT   11 30 06.4   -01 30 12     3.309    2.787   51.2   16.5   117   11.4 
2026-07-27 00:00 UT   11 31 24.9   -01 37 25     3.321    2.788   50.6   16.3   117   11.4 
2026-07-28 00:00 UT   11 32 43.5   -01 44 41     3.332    2.790   50.0   16.2   117   11.4 
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   11 34 02.4   -01 51 60     3.344    2.791   49.4   16.0   117   11.4 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   11 35 21.5   -01 59 21     3.355    2.793   48.8   15.9   117   11.4 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   11 36 40.8   -02 06 45     3.367    2.794   48.2   15.7   117   11.4 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   11 38 00.3   -02 14 11     3.378    2.796   47.6   15.5   117   11.4 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   11 39 20.1   -02 21 39     3.389    2.797   47.0   15.4   117   11.4 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.